Jaye Robin Brown

Joanna meets the perfect girl for her and must decide whether to break a promise that could change everything for her and her family or lose out on love in this charming young adult romance that's perfect for fans of Julie Murphy's Dumplin' and Becky

Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit

"A sweet, sexy, honest teen romance that just happens to involve two girls—all the more charming for being so very ordinary.”* A Kirkus Best Book of the Year! A Chicago Public Library Best Book of the Year! A Bustle.com Best Young Adult Book of the Year! 3 starred reviews! Joanna meets the perfect girl for her and must decide whether to break a promise that could change everything for her and her family or lose out on love in this charming young adult romance that’s perfect for fans of Julie Murphy’s Dumplin’ and Becky Albertalli’s Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. Joanna Gordon has been out and proud for years, but when her popular radio evangelist father remarries and decides to move all three of them from Atlanta to the more conservative Rome, Georgia, he asks Jo to do the impossible: to lie low for the rest of her senior year. And Jo reluctantly agrees. Although it is (mostly) much easier for Jo to fit in as a straight girl, things get complicated when she meets Mary Carlson, the oh-so-tempting sister of her new friend at school. But Jo couldn’t possibly think of breaking her promise to her dad. Even if she’s starting to fall for the girl. Even if there’s a chance Mary Carlson might be interested in her, too. Right? *Kirkus

kelsey

marked as dnf

sorry the ableist comments were too much i just couldn't get through it

Nova

there are so many things i love from this book. literally right now it's half 1 in the morning and i just finished this book because i couldn't stop myself from reading. 

first, i can relate to joanna while living in rome so much because of the whole being faithful and queer in a small conservative town thing. she's such a strong character, no matter how cowardly some of her actions seem to be. it's so rare to find a good book with f/f main pairing without them being sexualized, and this book also has poc and mental illness representations that most books don't even try to touch. 

i hope someone like joanna is making a lot of people's lives better by educating them through radio that you can always be faithful in your religion and also be queer. i know i will be really glad of that.

Allie Reynolds

I loved the relationship between Jo and her stepmother, Elizabeth, probably my favorite of the whole book!

Jazelle H

"Maybe I’ll even figure out how to pilot my own life."

Living in Atlanta, it was easy for Joanna to be out and proud, even as the daughter of a radio evangelist. When her father remarries and they move to the more conservative town of Rome, her father makes an unexpected request: for Jo to return to the closet and hide who she is from her new family members and the conservative community. Jo’s plan to play straight for her senior year almost works, until she meets Mary Carlson. Now, Jo must choose between a promise or the potential of real, honest love.

"The heart wants what the heart wants. In my case, what my heart wants is forbidden fruit. One sweet, mussy blond-haired, hazel-eyed, Georgia peach."

Jo’s voice as a narrator stands out from the very get-go. She’s sassy, fun, knows what she wants and who she is. That spunky voice keeps the novel moving forward page after page. Every chapter provides something for the story, which also keeps the novel moving in a natural, enthralling momentum. However, the language proves a little bland at times, which slows down that momentum in less essential moments. Between the pacing and Jo’s internal conflict, readers will find themselves rooting for the protagonist and eager to see where Jo’s heart takes them. 

"There are many people in the world who think you are perfect just the way you are. Go out and find them."

Moved by her radio evangelist father to a conservative community in Georgia, gay teen Jo is asked to hide her sexual orientation until she becomes an adult and is surprised by her instant popularity, a situation that is threatened when she falls in l

jess

So I think that this could be a very important book. Because let's face it: there aren't too many books that feature both faith and sexuality in a positive light, and we need media like that. Like Jo has said: some queer kids need faith in their lives. Some queer kids are struggling with faith and some religious kids are struggling with their sexuality and I think this is a book that portrays them both very well. The denomination of Christianity portrayed is evangelical, which I understand as being more conservative and generally more homophobic, but I love that this book made me reconsider. It also hit me personally: my mother's an evangelical Christian, I am bisexual (like, Kinsey 5 bisexual though ew boys except Kaz Brekker) and nervous of getting involved in youth stuff at church and religion itself because of my sexuality. This book made me take a step back and think about getting involved. (Also jealous because in the past week I've received two gay is bad talks from my mom do you think she knows lmao)

I think most of the characters are pretty well developed - Jo, especially. I could relate to her a lot. She's very good and deeply flawed at the same time, which I love in characters. Dana got on my nerves because it felt like she was using Jo sometimes, like, I wanted Jo to ditch her but Jo's a nice person. Jo's friends in Rome, Georgia were incredible though (with the exception of Jessica fuck her), they were all pretty unique. B.T.B. was fucking adorable. 

Jo and Mary Carlson's relationship wasn't as well-developed as I'd've liked to see, unfortunately. And I didn't think they had a lot of chemistry. I kept wanting to yell at Jo for keeping secrets from Mary Carlson and I think it was completely reasonable for Mary Carlson to break up with Jo for everything.

Joanna meets the perfect girl for her and must decide whether to break a promise that could change everything for her and her family or lose out on love in this charming young adult romance that’s perfect for fans of Julie Murphy’s Dumplin’ and Becky Albertalli’s Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. Joanna Gordon has been out and proud for years, but when her popular radio evangelist father remarries and decides to move all three of them from Atlanta to the more conservative Rome, Georgia, he asks Jo to do the impossible: to lie low for the rest of her senior year. And Jo reluctantly agrees. Although it is (mostly) much easier for Jo to fit in as a straight girl, things get complicated when she meets Mary Carlson, the oh-so-tempting sister of her new friend at school. But Jo couldn’t possibly think of breaking her promise to her dad. Even if she’s starting to fall for the girl. Even if there’s a chance Mary Carlson might be interested in her, too. Right?

Charlotte 

** spoiler alert **
           (Advanced) A book with a fruit or vegetable in the title ✔ 

I liked reading this book, but it also made me incredibly frustrated for Joanna, firstly, for her agreeing to the arrangement her father asked of her, and that she lied so much to Mary Carlson, and instead of coming clean about the whole promise she made to her, she broke up with her?? so many times I legit yelled at her to just TELL HER THE TRUTH. but I suppose that's the thing about being a young adult and being human, you don't always make the best choices, and things don't always work out perfectly, you make mistakes and you deal with whatever consequences there may be.

Alexa Jade

Wtf I loved this so much bye. I don't even know what else to say.

Katie Kite

I thought I had written a review of this but maybe not. Anyway I had a lot of problems with this book. I find the religious aspects really unrealistic and kind of pandering and preachy? But kind of knowingly so. I had a fundamental problem with the premise of a father asking his daughter to go back in the closet because it would be easier for him? And I know that was part of the point but it just really bummed me out as a plot point. That being said this book was so damn cute. It was just so cute and sweet and my gay little heart devoured it.

Maria Luiza

** spoiler alert **
           This book is so frustrating. All the characters feel the same to me, I was really struggling to differentiate all the girls until 75% of the book. 
There's also just so much that is just thrown in the story without any purpose behind it. Why did they mention Dana had an eating disorder? Does that make me understand the character more? No it doesn't. And the whole thing with Holly was so unnecessary. And god Dana is the worst character ever??? I couldn't stand whenever the book mentioned her. She only thinks about herself and gives the worst advice. Even when she's trying to help she seems to only have her own best interest in mind.
I feel like the book talks about lesbians as if they all hate each other unless they're dating and it's so upsetting. Couldn't they be friends with the already out kids in the school? It would be so much more realistic.
Most of the characters are so 2D we can't even understand their motives. Did Deidre really had to be an awful and manipulative person? Couldn't she be a nice person who just happens to date Mary Carlson? Wouldn't that make the decisions the other characters have to make while helping Jo get Mary back a lot more complex? Do we even understand why Deidre did what she did, or is she just an angry lesbian who wants to ruin relationships? It's all very very upsetting.

a ray

It’s about a queer girl who is also religious. The way it deals with religion and being gay is really cool.

Neva Davies

CW: homophobia, ableism, Christianity, drug reference

I recently read Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit by Jaye Robin Brown. And while I definitely loved seeing a religious lesbian, I definitely struggled with other aspects of this book.

Joanna's father gets married and asks Joanna to tone down her lesbian self for her senior year of high school. Joanna very reluctantly agrees, but that was before she falls in love with another classmate.

What I love about Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit: Joanna's father is supportive of Joanna, even after he asks her to lay low; the fact that Joanna is religious; the group of friends she surrounds herself with.

What I don't like about Georgia Peaches: the constant homophobia; the fact that Joanna is asked to hide her identity; the ableism from Joanna and others when it comes to Barnum, or B.T.B.

4.25/5 stars

Aubrey Hennig

Cori

Gianna Kristen

Lindsey B

jupiter

Julia

Lana

Dahlia McGarvey 

Jaela

Jonah K

A Kirkus Best Book of the Year! A Chicago Public Library Best Book of the Year! A Bustle.com Best Young Adult Book of the Year! Joanna meets the perfect girl for her and must decide whether to break a promise that could change everything for her and her family or lose out on love in this charming young adult romance that’s perfect for fans of Julie Murphy’s Dumplin’ and Becky Albertalli’s Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. Joanna Gordon has been out and proud for years, but when her popular radio evangelist father remarries and decides to move all three of them from Atlanta to the more conservative Rome, Georgia, he asks Jo to do the impossible: to lie low for the rest of her senior year. And Jo reluctantly agrees. Although it is (mostly) much easier for Jo to fit in as a straight girl, things get complicated when she meets Mary Carlson, the oh-so-tempting sister of her new friend at school. But Jo couldn’t possibly think of breaking her promise to her dad. Even if she’s starting to fall for the girl. Even if there’s a chance Mary Carlson might be interested in her, too. Right?

Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit

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